688 Foreign Relations, 1958-1960, Volume IX



our statements of determination to defend Berlin. Mr. Kohler said that
many people felt that the failure of the Summit meeting was really a re-
flection of the fact that Khrushchev had finally come to the conclusion
that we were serious regarding what we had said about our intention to
defend Berlin. Mr. Kohler went on to say that we can pretty safely as-
sume that when trouble occurs it will start on German soil. For this rea-
son, Mr. Kohler said, we have been concerned about the adequacy of the
German alert legislation and had been pleased to hear recently that
some progress had been made toward enacting the necessary legisla-
tion.
German Alert Legislation
    Minister Strauss responded to this statement by saying first that he
was speaking as Defense Minister. He went on to say that a few weeks
ago Baron von Gutenberg, a member of the Bundestag, returned to
Bonn from a trip to the States and when he met Minister Strauss in-
quired why the Defense Ministry refused to cooperate on the passage of
necessary alert legislation. Baron von Gutenberg told Minister Strauss
that Foreign Minister Brentano had given him this information. When
Strauss asked Brentano about the report, Brentano said that he had
heard it in the State Department. On further checking Minister Brentano
learned that he had been misinformed and that appropriate apologies
had been expressed. Minister Strauss went on to urge Mr. Merchant and
Mr. Kohler to convey to the Chancellor and the German Government
and the Bundestag in the most persuasive terms possible the conviction
that it is their responsibility to see that proper alert legislation is passed.
It appears that an amendment to the Constitution is needed for a com-
pletely satisfactory job in connection with the legislation but at the same
time a great deal can be accomplished within present constitutional lim-
its. Minister Strauss said that in June 1959, he and other interested mem-
bers of the Government, after some strenuous fights with the
Chancellor, had persuaded him to move ahead on the alert legislation.
He had to report, however, that although the legislation was submitted
to the Bundestag in December nothing substantial has happened since.
He said that negotiations are now underway with the SPD in an attempt
to reach agreement on an amendment to the Constitution. He said that
he was convinced that one of the great troubles was that the Chancellor
and other leaders of the German Government are not really convinced
that the matter is one of great urgency for the United States Govern-
ment. Minister Strauss said that we should make it clear to the Chancel-
lor that we cannot carry out fully our Berlin responsibilities without the
German alert legislation.
    Minister Strauss said that because he had pursued an aggressive
role in the matter of the legislation he had been accused in some quarters
of being a warmonger. He said he was willing to accept this indignity if